Monday, July 1, 2030: We wake up, bid farewell to our Tewir friends, and bid the Bridge to take us back home. We step through and are back in the hidden temple where Lyral, Buck, Binky, Ida, Silo, Kyle, Red Baron, Xena, Spock, Elegbe, Yara, Kano, Amina, and the other animals are waiting. “Lindsay Marie James! Where in Alÿran-Jakinduria’s wisdom have you been! What were you thinking, running away in the middle of the night like that! Rather, were you even thinking at all?!” “Mom! Dad! Silo! Kyle! Grandma!” Billy runs into his family’s arms, and they scoop him up.” TJ taunts, “Somebody’s in trouble” at which I pinch his ear and we tussle for a few seconds. “So, what happened for two weeks?” “On the night I snuck out, I was brought by the Bridge, beckoned by a voice both strange and familiar, to the planet Xilanti where dwell the Quartz Tree spirits and their Queen and All-Mother, Ænahïta Silica, immortal, crystalline trees from near the beginning of time. There in the city of the lost sand people, now crumbled to dust, dwelled the Golden Book, a book absolute in its knowledge of the Universe as well as several other books and statuettes of the gods. Also, there was the Star of Elysium, the point where the physical and deathless worlds intersect, represented as a large diamond. After retrieving the Book and bathing in the Lake of Light, we came to the planet Tewira where we met the winged inhabitants and found the stones of Wood and Rock and learned 53 of their eggs were taken by the Shadows. The Princess came with us to Ijen, where we found Fire and Day and promised to rescue their Queen from the Nightmare Hills. We then went to Xalexxa, home of a species of merfolk, an ocean world in the Andromeda Galaxy which was dying due to the theft of a life-sustaining golden nest, which we found on the ice planet Iâ, along with Water and Ice. When their Princess was taken, her mother joined us and we went next to Yran’t where we found Air and Night. After dinner with the Prime Minister and her son, we went last to the planet where the Dark Queen and her terrible fortress dwell, in mountains known across space as the Nightmare Hills. There, we found TJ, Billy, the Queen of Ijen, and the Princess of Iâ and rescued them with the help of spirits, children of the Shadow Queen who decided to rebel. We then returned our friends to their respective homelands and here we are.” I bring out the Book and the Nine stones, which takes Lyral aback as the sacred stones were the stuff of Immortal legend, supposedly made by the Divine and the old gods themselves. “The Stones have come home. Our Ancestors are home again.” Mom, Dad, TJ, and I revert back to our mundane forms, with the four of us being back in our pajamas from the nights we vanished. “Let’s get back to the house, shall we?”
We walk back to our house, now looking even better than before it was before the storm that set me on this journey. “Come and see your room, Lindsay!” I follow Kyle into the house and up to my room where it is completely repaired. Without even thinking, I wrap my arms around Kyle. “Thank you!” “You’re welcome, Lindsay.” “Am I squeezing too tight?” “Yes.” I let go and let Kyle walk out. “I’ll let you get dressed, then?” I put on some shorts and a T-Shirt and go back downstairs where we look at the other rooms and are pleased with the repairs. “Lindsay, your silver hair, how is it glowing now?” “I bathed in the Lake of Light on the planet Xilanti, a body of water blessed by the old goddess Alÿran-Jakinduria with the light of the first Stars after the first two non-divine lifeforms Ænahïta and her sister were born and swam in it.” I bring out a bottle of the precious, silver-white water, which amazes the boys. “I don’t feel so good. I think I’m going to be sick.” “All right. Drink some of this. I think I know what that silver paste is for.” I bring out the vial of silver apple bloom paste and pour some of it into a bowl over top of some leftover apples for him to eat and recover from his ordeal. Binky sits down next to him as he eats. “How are you doing, baby?” “Fine, I guess. She kept giving me food. She kept trying to use my ancestral memories to find it.” “Where what is, Billy?” “Her Champion, I guess. And it wasn’t like I could’ve told her where it was as none of my ancestors know where it is.” “Come to think of it, she was pestering me about it, whatever it was on the first night she broke into here on the 6th. I didn’t know what she was talking about until Billy brought up his vision after being stung.” “So, what was the point of the whole thing, other than to mess with our summer?” “Someone I met on Xilanti told me of things and people that needed to be found and brought home. Nine stones, several books and statues, 53 eggs, and four people that had to be found and/or rescued.” “I am feeling better now, after eating this.” “Good.” “I can barely remember much between me waking up in the tower on Queen’s Hill and TJ helping me and the others to escape. Heh.” “What?” “Apparently he was able to get into the room by hanging on to the Queen so softly she couldn’t feel it, and he got us all out by taking the bedding and making a rope ladder and hanging it out the window to make her think I’d already escaped, she fell for it, and he hung on to her as she flew out the window to look for me.” “Ah. I see you pulled the old fake escape trick.” “Let me tell y’all. She was not happy when she realized she’d been hoodwinked.” “You should’ve seen Lindsay deal with her using the stones.” “Oh, stop.” “There is the matter of the store that needs an exorcism.” “Right.” “How will you do it?” “Will you use the stones, Lindsay?” “We’ll be back in a bit.” I again take the form of Ælura Fulmena and join Ida and Lyral at the General Store to cleanse it, and I take the stones with me. We arrive to find that the curse is still in place, terrible voices screaming in infinite confusion and arcane runes scrawled on every surface. Ida opens her book to the chapter on breaking curses, Lyral begins silently chanting, and I bring out the Nine and the gods and speak their Canticles:
The Nine and the statuettes, with the names of their respective gods invoked, emit a greater light, which removes the curse from the store, erasing the runes, silencing the voices, and restoring the place to its proper state, with even the destroyed merchandise and items restored to being intact. A protective symbol is engraved on the front door with the sigils H’tan, T’lil, and X’deq inside it. “It is done. The exorcism is successful.” “Call your son to tell him of our success.” Ida gets on the phone with Buck as we head home. “Mom! They’re saying that the remaining dark trees were destroyed by this bright light. They’ve turned to dust now. You did it.” The Crawfords, knowing they will be safe since the stones are home, go back to their own house.
Getting home for lunch, I check my phone. I see that Kyle has used it a couple times since I was gone and he gave them Ida’s number. I open the group chat and find it buzzing with questions.
We all leave the group chat as we go to ask if we all can have dinner at my house and I ask them if I can tell them what happened over the past two weeks. “I think it would be good for them to come over, but I doubt if they will allow such information to be divulged to average mortals. You know how 12-year-old mortal children are apt to blab to their other friends.” “Qate and Josh have already correctly guessed that extraterrestrials were involved.” “I don’t know, Lindsay. I’d have to prove to the Council that your friends won’t accidentally or otherwise divulge what happened to anyone else.” “They’ve never told anyone else outside their families about our immortality and magic. As my friends, they deserve to know the truth about why I’ve been out of contact with them for two weeks.” “I agree with you wholeheartedly, Lindsay. I just hope the Lady of Light will see it that way, too.” Lyral and I go downstairs to the temple to contact the Immortal Council and the Lady of Light, Bianca Rosa. “That is an interesting journey, dear Ælura. None of us have seen the Nine since they were scattered during the Doom, especially the sacred Star. I see your mortal friends wish to know where you’ve been for half a month. On this matter, I must deliberate with the rest of the Council until we reach a conclusion. When we do, I shall summon you again with our decision.” She vanishes and we go back upstairs and watch some TV for a few hours before we are summoned again at 4 pm. “It wasn’t a sure thing, but after careful consideration, Ælura, you have our leave to tell the story to your mortal friends.” “Oh, thank you, Lady of Light. I must send some water from the Lake of Light to you sometime.” The Lady vanishes again and I go to my room to text my friends.
I go to the dining room to set the table for twelve people and finish up right as the friends begin arriving. Just as Henry and Josh said, they brought the tea and the pizzas, enough for all of us. I go down to let them in my house. “Welcome! I have the dining room set up for us.” They come in and we go up for dinner, with Josh passing out the pizzas and Henry pouring the tea. After saying Grace, I begin my tale.
“On the night I snuck out, I was brought by the Bridge, beckoned by a voice both strange and familiar, to the planet Xilanti where dwell the Quartz Tree spirits and their Queen and All-Mother, Ænahïta Silica, immortal, crystalline trees from near the beginning of time. There in the city of the lost sand people, now crumbled to dust, dwelled the Golden Book, a book absolute in its knowledge of the Universe. Also there was the Star of Elysium, the point where the physical and deathless worlds intersect, represented as a large diamond. After retrieving the Book and bathing in the Lake of Light, we came to the planet Tewira where we met the winged inhabitants and found the stones of Wood and Rock and learned 53 of their eggs were taken by the Shadows. The Princess came with us to Ijen, where we found Fire and Day and promised to rescue their Queen from the Nightmare Hills. We then went to Xalexxa, home of a species of merfolk, an ocean world in the Andromeda Galaxy which was dying due to the theft of a life-sustaining golden nest, which we found on the ice planet Iâ, along with Water and Ice. When their Princess was taken, her mother joined us and we went next to Yran’t where we found Air and Night. After dinner with the Prime Minister and his son, we went last to the planet where the Dark Queen and her terrible fortress dwell, in mountains known across space as the Nightmare Hills. There, we found TJ, Billy, the Queen of Ijen, and the Princess of Iâ and rescued them with the help of spirits, children of the Shadow Queen who decided to rebel. We then returned our friends to their respective homelands and here we are.”
On Ijen, Dagmar is with Sigurđ and Surt. Their people are celebrating her return and preparing to return to normal life since their world was safeguarded against the Shadows. “Thank you for giving them your spear to give to me, Surt. You demonstrated foresight that day.” “I didn’t doubt that they would bring you home, Mother.” “All those stories I told you when you were a child certainly paid off, didn’t they, my boy. You and your father should’ve seen me set her alight with it. It was wicked.”
On Iâ, Hîvānë-my’naa and Orinda-nari are with Yavos. They are also returning to business as usual with the planet having been made off-limits to the Shadows. “I am glad to be home now, Mama.” “We are happy you are safely back in the frosts of Mother Iâ.” The Prince signs, “I believed you were lost forever until your Mother went with the Silver Guardian to save you.” The Princess signs back, “You should have seen Mother shooting at the enemy with her arrows.” “Oh, don’t brag, Orinda-nari.”
On Xalexxa, the merfolk are glad to be getting back to normal. Xana and Hanix are playing together, watched by Princess Xalixandra, who remarks to her mother, “We’ll never know why the Darkness took the Nest, will we? We live in different galaxies. We are no threat to them.” “We aren’t, daughter, but there are Others who might respond if she calls, in the way when she called on them thousands of years ago.” “How? How do we know what they would or wouldn’t do when someone calls their names?”
On Tewira, Bán and Dubh are helping Oonagh get ready for an important ritual. The King and Queen are enjoying themselves and getting back to their routine before the attacks, with Vylmar having taken a more regular sleep schedule. Niamh and Edessa are discussing a missing person. “I wonder if Oo saw her, Mama. Did she see Mhéirí?” “I don’t know. I’ll ask her later. It is strange that if she escaped from there, that she wouldn’t have tried to contact us or get back home. There are many worlds whose people have ships capable of flying here. We often traded with the Vädish for their surplus crops before their rightful Queen was forced into exile by a puppet of the Shadow Queen who was given mastery solely to maintain the perfidious tyrant King’s place on the throne.” “I have no doubt that what the Silver Guardian did heralds the beginning of the end of the Shadow Queen’s power, Mother. Only time will tell.” The Princess meets them in the very lowest garden of the castle. “Your Wisdoms, Syngva XV, Wander VII, M’riin VIII, Xuxat I, Fir’qa I, and Mandrivnyk X.” Six other elder witches are there, including Ida, dressed in their own long golden-silver robes and veiled faces, tattooed on their faces, chests, and arms, each carrying a book and an item. Queen Myngara has the Collar of the Roots, Ida has the Wanderer’s Mask, Mother M’riin has a bracelet made of this strange pink mineral, Xamë Xuxat wears a pendant made of the same pink crystal, Mÿxi Fir’qa carries a bow and arrows made from the wood of the sacred tree on her homeworld, and Mother Mandrivnyk wears a belt with five kinds of gemstones. Princess Oonagh is wearing a simple, white linen nightdress, her red hair braided in a long queue. “It has been quite an ordeal, for you have passed your physical trial on your way towards becoming the new Reverend Mother, Lir’liël Sídhe.” “Thank you, Xamë Xuxat.” “Your great-grandmother, my half-sister, is proud of you from her resting place on the Shimmering Plane.” “Thank you, Mother Fir’qa.” “It is horrible what your parents did by abandoning you and your cousins to go serve the enemy.” “I feel no shame, Mother M’riin.” “Tell us about those you journeyed with, Sister Sídhe.” They were three Immortal warriors from the planet Earth who were searching for one of their own who was taken. As we went along, we were joined by the Queen of Iâ, whose daughter was taken as was the Queen of Ijen. We eventually came to the world that is under the Shadow Queen’s control where I found one of the lost Immortals and he had found and was carrying the Queen, the Princess, a mortal friend of his, and the 53 eggs, Mother Mandrivnyk.” “The mortal who was with the lost Immortal happens to be my youngest grandson, Oonagh.” “On Mother Nyarva’s homeworld, no less, Mother Wander.” “Yes. And now that Mÿxi Fir’qa is free alongside her son and Xamë Xuxat’s husband, Mother Wander, we are indeed strengthened.” “Ælura used various ancient relics to destroy the fortress and free us, so maybe the Queens of Ordastë may also have escaped.” “So, with the advent of the Silver Guardian, the beginning is coming to its end.” “It is, Xamë Xuxat.” “For your success in your physical trial, Sister Sídhe, you have earned 53 stars tattooed upon you. Receive them serenely.” As the Reverend Mothers place their hands on Oo’s head, stars appear, tattooed upon her neck, arms, and legs, glowing faintly in colors only witches can see. “You are now an Adept, Oonagh. Keep up the good work.” “Thank you, Mothers. Thank you all so much.” The Reverend Mothers depart and Oonagh rejoins Bán and Dubh in their bedroom and climbs into bed, slipping away to dream of the Shimmering Plane where all the good witches who’ve passed on go to rest, trying to find her predecessor and namesake. Xamë Xuxat, Mother Syngva, and Mÿxi Fir’qa remain in the Tewir forest. “And since our seventh Queen merged her consciousness with her twin to save both of them, and the disappearance of my mother, the great goddess Aurië, who will lead us? I have not heard Her voice since she left my Taniri sisters after they came of age.” “I don’t know, Mother Fir’qa. But after my beloved Emperor was abducted by the Shadow Queen, I had a vision from Her daughter Þÿgetë, that a few Æxmar ago, two twin girls were born in horrid circumstances to a wicked mother and though the horned girl is still imprisoned within her own body, one day she will be free to begin her reign as the eighth Queen of the Golden Coven in Via Laxia, blessed by the goddess and her four divine daughters.” “Queen of the Golden Coven in Via Laxia?” “Our Archmage.” “Indeed, Mother Syngva.”
My friends go home, amazed by my story and relieved to have us back home. I help them clean up the dining room table and get ready for bed. “So, how is the Lady?” “Lady Bianca is well. I was surprised that she and the Council actually granted me permission to tell them the story.” “Maybe she felt they could be trusted. She allowed us to tell them about our true nature.” After I finish getting ready for bed and saying goodnight to the others, I go into my Forest room and take out the Nine stones made at the beginning of time, the bottle of water from the Lake of Light, the bottle of silver dust from the city of the sand people, and the Golden Book and set them in the stone and crystal grotto. I am joined by Xena and Spock. “I never thought I’d see the Nine stones as long as I dwell within this realm.” “Now the Light of the Deathless Realm shall shine on Earth once again.” “I did it, Your Majesty. I brought them home. The Tewir eggs, the people, and the stones.” “Well done, Ælura. I see you have the Book as well. You were brave in facing the Shadow Queen and the nameless horrors of the sand city.” “Your Majesty? What’s going to happen now that we brought all this home? Now that the people were protected and brought home? What will the Darkness do next?” “The eruption of the dormant volcano known as Queen’s Hill and the destruction of the Alvearium and the escape of her latest brood has greatly weakened her forces. She has many servants, but they will be occupied for a time by the rebuilding of the fortress.” “Will she return soon?” “There will be peace for a time, and then when she returns, her vengeance will be terrible, but you will be more prepared.” “Everything will be okay?” “It depends, dear Ælura.” “You mentioned that there was something that she was seeking that could either set her free or doom her for all eternity, didn’t you, Your Majesty?” “Did I? Oh, yes. She dropped the darned thing during our fight, though I don’t know whereas I was too busy distracting her so my people could escape. It is somewhere on this planet and has yet to be found. If I remember correctly, it was her first creation.” “What is it called, Your Majesty?” “I used to remember some things, dear Ælura. I must go now. You must rest, for many trials lay ahead, I am sure.” “Goodnight, Your Majesty.” “Goodnight, dear Ælura.” The light of the diamond softens, and we go to my room to go to sleep in our own bed for the first time in over two weeks. I feel content, knowing that my family and I are moving toward enlightenment.
The clouds of the red-gray sky are still, but great fury nonetheless lurks behind them. The Darkness, the Herald of the Horror, the Mother of Shadows, She Who Goes Bump in the Night, the Dark Queen, the Shadow Queen, the Slave of the Inanis stands unmoving in a clearing of the sickly trees at the foot of what is left of Queen’s Hill, still smoking and crumbling from the force of the flight of the rebellious spirits, now safely in the embrace of the children of Izarra-Hautsa Errementari-Erregina. “General?” “My Queen.” “Contact our vassal on Vädi.” “She has just taken over as Queen, Your Majesty.” “I know. Tell her that her Queen has a special assignment for her.” “Yes, my Queen.” The General goes forth to Vädi to contact the vassal. Placed before her, forced to her knees, is the Vädish woman who knows so much, her arms held fast by two great troll-like spirits. “Still so defiant, after so long. It appears you have not suffered enough through these 200,000 years. You continue to wander freely through space, continuing to act against our interest. Long have you birthed my children and long have you corrupted many of them away from me.” “Long have you possessed my body, Dark Tree of old. I take comfort in the knowledge that you are reaching the end of your time within me. The Silver Guardian, Ælura Fulmena will guarantee that.” A dark form, like a clawed hand, reaches out from the Darkness to grasp the woman’s jaws to lift her off the ground, even as five women, one of them being covered in emerald green scaly skin and another with large white wings, all with chains on their wrists and ankles and black bags over their heads are manhandled into a tunnel going deep underground, kicking and screaming. “Witness this! All of you! She may have thought she could defy me, but she has merely forestalled the inevitable! When I find that which we birthed from her before all others, and when it hatches, her doom shall be complete!” The woman gazed back defiantly at her captor as a sixth woman, also bound and blindfolded, is dragged down into the same tunnel. “Then, no one will ever question my right as Queen of all trees and our homeland shall be retaken from my sister in the name of Inanis. Until then, we need to deal with this galaxy’s Immortal human insolence! Same with the witches!” She then drops the woman back onto the ground, her cheeks and jaws bleeding from the enemy’s sharp claws. “They will stop you and all who follow you, in the name of my half-sister the Empress-” “You have voiced rebellion for the last time, swan! The peoples of Tewira, Ijen, Xalexxa, Iâ, and Yran’t, and Hanover County and its Immortals shall pay! They shall suffer greatly for their interference. And you, you shall never speak nor shall your mind roam freely again whilst I dwell in you! This is just the beginning, Ælura!” The Dark Tree then pours herself into the woman’s body and then she consumes it, and she disappears into the Darkness, her screams of pain and terror gradually fading out as the cloud of malice subsumes her, but they nonetheless echo throughout the woods, reverberating around the world many times over. The Shadow Queen then takes off from the planet, followed by seven of her servants. As they reach the edge of space, she opens her emerald green eyes, looking intently in the direction of Earth.
“̷͉͚͑͋̀̎̔̈̋̇̏̆̄̒͋̓̓̕͘̚̚̚Ḑ̴̛̮̲̱̞͍̻̺͙͖̯̣̪̫̝̹̲̒̍̋̇̌͝ͅĄ̸̗͕̹͓̻̗͙͕̣̩̯̱̹͈̮͇͉͇͇̂͛̆̇̿͊͑͒͛̓̾̍͂͋̍̋́̃͘̕͜͝͝M̷̛̝̥̱͓̂̓͂́̀̔͊̿̂̓͛̏̈̈̆͑N̶̫͔͓̤̩̯͎͖̫̭̙̳̙̮͍̼̜̠̈́̀̓̓̐̀ ̵̢̧͙̬͖͕̬̭͇̫͔̓̂͑̊̚͜Y̵̖̬̤̤̪̒ͅO̴̡̡̧̱̮̰̬̤͇̬̾̿̐̀̍̋̕͜͝͝Ů̷̱͙͍̰̻̹̗͉̲̙͙̭̔ͅ,̸̨̻͚̮̝͕̯̳̝̥͉͈̣̮̠̥̰̥̹̩̟̘̗̌̓̅̿̔̀̏̉̎̓̇̽͑̒̅̈̈́͐̕͜͠͠ ̷̡̜̭͂̃͛̔̑̓̈́̒͜Æ̶̧̢̛͇͕͙͖̜̱̦͔͓̣͓̮̣̯̱̞̮̝͑̍̒̂̓͜͜͝L̵̡̢̢̪͇͔̼̫͕̖̫̞̬̯̱̔̋Ư̷̢̡̨͍͍̹͈̹̱̙̠̜̲̞̲̘͖̠̥̬͒̋̄͒̈́͗̿̔̇̓͛̀̊̂̂̏͌̀̚̚͜͜͝R̶̨̢͍͈̗̜͎͉͙̫̼̝͖̎̊͗́͆̑̒̈́̐̉̐͋̃͌͛͑̏̅͐̓͘͜͝͠ͅA̴̡̟͎͍͓̠̣͔̻̝̅̈́̾̿̈́!̴̡̨̳̘̠̠̼̱̪̝̼̠̩̙̆̈́̂̋̅͗͘͜ͅ”̴̧̥͈͔̳͑̈̿̔̾̉͊͒͆̀͌͂́̀͑̈́̏͝ͅ ̴͕̥̿̎̇͗͂̒͆͛͆̀̎̍̃́̄̍͂̑͠
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